Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees: Essential Techniques of Authentic Chinese Cooking, written by Kian Lam Kho, is a detailed guide for the home cook into the fundamental techniques surrounding Chinese cuisine with 158 recipes. The title is named after the metonyms- phoenix claws for chicken feet and jade trees for gailan (Chinese broccoli). While you won’t…

In February, I used Alton Brown’s marshmallow recipe as a base to create Chocolate Chip Marshmallows. I wanted to try modifying the recipe again for the holidays. I substituted the vanilla extract for peppermint to make Peppermint Marshmallows! I added some drops of natural red food coloring to the top of the pan of marshmallows…

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Biscotti. This twice-baked cookie is studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips and perfect for pairing with coffee or hot chocolate. I have made quite a few biscotti recipes over the past few days and these Chocolate Chip Biscotti are one of my favorites! The twice-baked cookies are also perfect for holiday gifts….

I love making biscotti during the holidays, because they have a longer shelf life and are nice and crisp to make the shipping journey to family. These Gingerbread Biscotti have the addition of molasses and spices perfect for dipping in hot chocolate or coffee. Did you know that blackstrap molasses is a great source of…

Shakarli Bodom are an Uzbek dessert/snack of almonds covered in a sugar coating. They are quite addictive. The sugar coating adds a sweetness, but not overly so. Chad wasn’t too sure at first and said they were just ok. By the time I went back to put them in a container, he had continued to…

I have had a wonderful time with my family this week and just wanted to share a few of the homemade gifts I made in case you want to bookmark them for next year. Vanilla Bean Infused Honey: I found this idea for Vanilla Honey on Gutsy. She combined the seeds and pod of a…

I found these lemon almond crinkle cookies at The Slow Roasted Italian and thought they would be perfect for a couple of parties last week. Chad also likes when I find a new cookie recipe that doesn’t include any chocolate. When I was younger, I was not really a fan of lemons in baking, but it…

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends. I am enjoying Evan’s first Christmas and time with Chad’s family! I will post photos tomorrow of our day. I have another cookie recipe and this one also uses oranges. I had a few oranges to use up from my CSA…